A/HRC/43/3/Add.1 B. Human rights defenders 17. In May 2019, OHCHR and the Office of the Ombudsperson published a joint report on the situation of human rights defenders. 13 OHCHR values the commitment of human rights defenders and organizations working in an adverse context and with diminished resources. This includes representatives of indigenous and peasant organizations who, in April and May, walked more than 100 kilometres in a “march for dignity”, and students of the San Carlos University of Guatemala who, in August, protested for weeks in favour of affordable higher public education. 18. After more than a year without progress (A/HRC/40/3/Add.1, paras. 39–40), in October 2019, the Presidential Commission of Human Rights (COPREDEH) reinitiated efforts to develop a public policy for the protection of human rights defenders and collected information on the risks they faced. The Office of the Ombudsperson established a specialized unit on human rights defenders and journalists in November, which was a positive step. 1. Protection of human rights defenders 19. Human rights defenders continued to work in a multi-risk context, with high levels of impunity for attacks against them. Between 1 January and 17 October, the Office of the Attorney General recorded the following figures concerning crimes against human rights defenders and arrests of those responsible (see table 1).14 Table 1 Crimes against human rights defenders and arrests made Type of defender Complaints received Arrest warrants requested 108 13 Journalists 96 13 Members of the judiciary and prosecutors 92 32 Activists 20. Between 1 January and 4 October, the police carried out 168 risk-analysis procedures for human rights defenders and recommended 131 measures involving periodic visits by the police, 14 personal protection measures and 6 protection measures to buildings. 15 21. The non-governmental organization Udefegua documented 395 cases of aggressions against human rights defenders (153 women, 242 men) in 2019. Land rights defenders, mostly indigenous peoples, continued to be the most targeted, accounting for 47 per cent of reported aggressions. As of the end of November, 16 human rights defenders had been killed, including 10 members of the Peasant Development Committee (CODECA), which defends rights to land and to affordable electricity. 22. Organizations were the target of attacks, including criminalization, surveillance of their offices, robberies and raids by unknown persons, including the theft of computers and hard drives containing sensitive information. In 2019, Udefegua documented 67 such incidents. On 8 March, International Women’s Day, the office of the non-governmental organization “Alianza Política Sector de Mujeres” (Women’s Sector Political Alliance) in Guatemala City was broken into and documents were taken by unknown persons, for reasons still under investigation by the Office of the Attorney General. 2. Stigmatization and criminalization 23. In 2019, messages discrediting human rights defenders proliferated on social media, including from the President and anonymous “trolls”. It was concerning that social media, 13 14 15 oacnudh.org.gt/images/CONTENIDOS/ARTICULOS/PUBLICACIONES/ Informe_personas_defensoras.pdf (in Spanish). Information provided to OHCHR by the Office of the Attorney General, UIP/G 2019002341/hacmda, 30 October 2019. Information provided to OHCHR by the National Civil Police, Doc. No. 2115-2019/DG/CRTE/at, 14 October 2019. 5